Getting Started with AI
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Workbook: Get the hang of my smartphone

Goal: learn the useful things your phone can do — with a patient teacher who explains one step at a time.

Most of us use a fraction of what our phones can do. AI is a perfect tutor for it: tell it your phone and what you'd like to learn, and it walks you through it slowly, as many times as you need.

Watch a real conversation

You
I have an iPhone but I really only use it for calls and texts. Can you teach me a few useful things?
AI
Gladly — and there's a lot it can do to make life easier. Popular favorites: taking and sharing photos, video-calling family, setting reminders, getting directions, and making the screen easier to read. Which of those sounds most useful to you? We'll go one at a time, no rush.
🍎 Notice: you told it your phone (iPhone) and your level. Now it can give you the exact buttons, not vague advice.
You
Show me how to video-call my grandkids. Go slowly.
AI
Of course. The easiest way on iPhone is FaceTime. Step 1: Find the green FaceTime icon and tap it. Step 2: Tap "New FaceTime" at the top. Step 3: Type your grandchild's name (if they're in your contacts) or their number. Step 4: Tap the green FaceTime button — it will ring, and when they answer you'll see each other. Step 5: Tap the red button to hang up. Practice once with someone — it feels like magic the first time.
🪜 Notice: "go slowly," one step at a time. You set the pace, and it never sighs or rushes you.
You
Wait, I don't see "New FaceTime." Can you explain it a different way?
AI
No problem. After you open FaceTime, look at the very top for a button that might say "+ New FaceTime" or just a "+" sign. If your phone is a little older, you may instead see a box to type a name right away — type your grandchild's name there and tap the camera icon. If you'd like, take a photo of your screen and I'll tell you exactly which button to tap.
🔄 Notice: stuck? "Explain it a different way" — and it can even look at a photo of your screen to guide you exactly.
You
Got it! What else is worth learning? Give me a short list I can practice.
AI
"📱 Worth learning next: 1) Make the text bigger (Settings → Display). 2) Set a reminder ('Hey Siri, remind me to take my pills at 8'). 3) Get directions in Maps. 4) Share a photo by text. 5) Add a favorite contact for one-tap calling." Pick one a day, practice it twice, and it'll stick. Ask me to walk you through any of them.
🖨️ Notice: a short practice list, one a day. Learning sticks when it's small and spread out.
Your phone, finally working for you. You learned at your own pace, got unstuck without embarrassment, and have a list to grow into. The same approach works for an Android phone, a tablet, or a computer — just tell it which you have.

Now you try — climb the ladder

Tell it your device and what you'd like to learn. Tap Copy to begin.

❓ How do I paste after I copy?
  1. On a phone or tablet: tap once inside the typing box, then press and hold until Paste appears — tap it.
  2. On a computer: click in the box, then hold Ctrl and press V (on a Mac, Command + V).
🌱 Just ask
One plain request.
I have an iPhone but mostly just call and text. Teach me a few useful things it can do.
🌿 Add a detail
Pick one thing and set the pace.
Show me how to video-call my grandkids on my iPhone, one slow step at a time.
🌳 Go back and forth
When stuck, ask another way.
I don't see that button. Can you explain it a different way? I can send a photo of my screen.
🏔️ Make it yours
Get a practice list to grow into.
Give me a short printable list of five useful things to learn on my iPhone, in an easy order, that I can practice one a day.

What you just learned

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